Gigabyte EP45-Extreme Review

Introduction:

If you’ve ever overclocked a motherboard before, you know that keeping the Northbridge cool is one way to get the most out of the motherboard. When Northbridge temperatures rise, it becomes harder and harder to squeeze out better clocks. What’s the solution for this problem? A bigger heatsink for the Northbridge, of course! The all new Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme Socket 775 motherboard is built for the extreme users who want to be able to squeeze the most out of their system. This motherboard is designed for use with water cooling setups, but it’s still usable without the water cooling. What else does this limited edition Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme offer that’ll put it above the competitors? Will the extra cooling on the Northbridge make a huge difference when overclocking this motherboard?

The Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme motherboard uses the new Intel P45 chipset, which is considered a “mainstream” chipset by Intel. How will this chipset compare to the wildly popular X48 chipset? Will the overclocking be better on the P45 chipset? Paired up with the Northbridge heatsink, will there be anything that can stop the Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme motherboard?

Closer Look:

The Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme comes packaged in a large box that has some green camouflage in the background of a giant green “X”, with bullet holes surrounding the “X”. You’ll also find a lot of the key features on the front of the box, as well as the back side of the box. The back of the box has many charts, comparisons, and descriptions of all the great features of the Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme motherboard. The side of the box has information about the motherboard in multiple languages for international consumers.

That’s not all for the outside of the box! The front of the box has a flap that is held together with Velcro, and with a light pull, you can open it. Upon opening, you can set your eyes up on this limited edition Gigabyte motherboard through the plastic. On the adjacent side of the flap, you can get a look at some of the LED alerts that this Gigabyte motherboard features, as well as a breakdown of the Northbridge cooling system that Gigabyte labels as “Hybrid Silent-Pipe” technology.

Now, let’s unpack the Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme motherboard, and take a look at the included accessories before we take an in-depth look at the motherboard itself.